The Effects of Overtraining (Why You Must Stretch and Value Active Recovery)

The Effects of Overtraining

Understanding Overtraining Syndrome

As I remembered a time when I went through overtraining years ago when I fucked up my back really bad and why I was a fucking idiot not listening to my body, I had to take a break from working out. 

This literally pissed me off so much that I went back home in pain that I decided to study what "Overtraining" is that my physical therapist told me about. 

So I really want to tell you a quick story before we dive in to the effects of overtraining, what it is and why you must value active recovery.

A Story of Overtraining

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Years ago, I attempted to do slow eccentric pull-ups and I felt a muscle completely shift in my back and I have no idea what just happened. 

Other than the fact that at that time I'd say that I wasn't careful as I didn't want to use a band to modify the slow eccentric pull-up. 

Then it hit me when I saw Julie (the physical therapist). 

"Adam you pulled a back muscle, this requires you stop all of your favorite back workouts."

Fuck, this really got under my skin. If there is one thing I hate doing more than anything, that is taking a break from doing my workouts. 

At that time, I was literally brainstorming my own routines (testing exercises) and how I can help people get in shape. 

Overtraining hit me in the fucking face, and I got so damn frustrated and at that time I was young, kinda careless, didn't really look out for my own recovery.

Recognizing Overtraining

Signs and Symptoms

So, how do you know if you’re overtraining? The signs can be all over the place—physical, emotional, and behavioral. Let’s break it down:

Physical Symptoms:

• Persistent muscle soreness and chronic fatigue that just won’t go away

• A noticeable drop in your performance and endurance

• You’re getting injured more often, and even minor injuries take forever to heal

• Sleep disturbances and insomnia are keeping you up at night

• Digestive issues and changes in appetite

Emotional Symptoms:

• Anxiety and depression creeping in

• Irritability and mood swings that make you feel like you’re on an emotional rollercoaster

• Loss of motivation and interest in training

• Feelings of burnout and exhaustion

Behavioral Symptoms:

• Changes in your appetite and sleep patterns

• Withdrawing from social activities and relationships

• Relying more on substances like caffeine and nicotine to get through the day

• Decreased productivity and performance at work or school

Recognizing these signs early is crucial. OTS can be tricky to diagnose because its symptoms often mimic other conditions like depression and anxiety. If you suspect you’re dealing with OTS, don’t tough it out—seek help from a qualified healthcare professional. Your body and mind will thank you.

The Effects of Overtraining

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Courtesy to the National Exercise & Sports Training Association, this is a graph of what Overtraining looks like.

Do you lift weights? Cool, I’m proud of you. If the program tells you to rest 90 to 120 seconds after deadlifting, DO IT. Remember, exercise induced stress can be beneficial in moderation but harmful if excessive.

Do you often do High Intensity Interval Training? After doing an intense exercise, take a quick break if you feel yourself panting.

Brother, it doesn’t matter what style of training you are doing, even if you are a long jumper and you gotta do plyometrics, you can’t just engage in strenuous training and then throw up everywhere and call that “HARD WORK.”

There are trainer’s out there that do this and I slap my fucking forehead because I doubt they retain clients.

Overtraining is very real and if you were smart, you’d watch how much you push your limits, that’s why I ALWAYS encourage a heart rate monitor.

Adequate recovery is crucial to avoid the negative effects of overtraining. Stress hormones can also disrupt your sleep and recovery process.

You’ll never find your anabolic threshold without a heart rate monitor.

Overtraining Syndrome Defined

Overtraining is classified and defined as “Constant intense training with inadequate recovery time and lack of adequate rest.” (Courtesy of ACE Blog)

Brother, this is very serious, in fact I came across someone on one of my TikTok videos as he admitted to me…

“I did 500 parallel bar dips and hurt myself.”

Even though I rarely go on there anymore just cause of the immaturity of haters and troll.. I remember telling him…

“Brother, that’s too much, slow down. You’ll get hurt doing that many reps.”

So let’s take this in to consideration and don’t overtrain. Be aware of the signs of overtraining, such as persistent injuries, chronic muscle pain, and overall fatigue.

As I already said, I made this mistake, and I’m seeing this in many other men that don’t listen to their body.

Definition and Causes

Overtraining syndrome (OTS) is no joke, brother. It’s what happens when you push your body way past its limits without giving it the time it needs to recover. Imagine running your car non-stop without ever changing the oil—eventually, it’s gonna break down. OTS is like that for your body. It’s caused by a mix of too much training volume, intensity, and frequency, combined with not enough rest, nutrition, and mental recovery.

Think about it: if you’re constantly hitting the gym hard, skipping meals, and not getting enough sleep, you’re setting yourself up for disaster. Sudden changes in your training regimen, skipping warm-ups and cool-downs, and poor sleep habits can all contribute to OTS. And let’s not forget the mental aspect—stress and anxiety can make things even worse.

Risk Factors

Some people are more prone to OTS than others. If you’re into high-intensity training like sprinting or distance running, or if your sport involves a lot of high-impact movements like football or basketball, you’re at a higher risk.

Got a history of overtraining or burnout? You’re in the danger zone. Mental health issues like anxiety and depression can also make you more susceptible. Poor sleep habits and inadequate nutrition and hydration are like adding fuel to the fire. So, if any of this sounds like you, it’s time to take a step back and reassess your training program.

Men Must Listen to Their Body

I encourage you to listen to this podcast in this article, you'll hear me tell the story of what happened when I pulled my back muscle. 

Because I told myself, "I don't need a trainer."

This is the whole important point to this entire article, men are like all-or-nothing junkies when it comes to fitness. 

You'll hear a ton of people say this comment all the time because they just want free shit and they never really want to pay for a workout to work with a trainer.

I had this mentality years ago, where did that land me? 

OUT OF MY FITNESS JOURNEY FOR MONTHS.

I always touch upon mindset in virtually all of my articles, so this must be covered. Here's my advice to you if you get hurt...

"Don't assume you can figure it all out on your own."

Trending: Go From 0 pull-ups to 5 pull-ups in just one week!

Active Recovery and Adequate Recovery Prevent Injury

Here’s an active recovery workout that I suggest you do brother.

To be clear, I have another YouTube channel I just launched and I prefer you go subscribe to that one. Anyway’s here’s the all important point behind this active recovery workout…

When you work your corrective muscles, you prevent injury. Not only do you prevent injury, you hit the muscles that most people overlook.

This workout targets upper back, mid back, lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. It helps maintain muscle tissue, preventing loss due to hormonal changes. Do you see how this can literally save you from getting hurt?

Just one active recovery routine can get you going back to the gym and prevent DOMS, that is delayed onset muscle soreness.

Wondering what happens when you stop working out? Learn the effects of detraining and how to maintain your gains during training breaks!

Effects of Overtraining

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Here’s the big caveat behind this entire section…

Do NOT use any of these effects as an excuse to stop working out.

Because that’s just choosing the easy way out and hate to call you out, but that’s you being a coward.

Especially if you are an avid reader of my blog, you already know I call out weakness frequently. Without further ado, here are the effects:

• Persistent soreness that doesn’t go away after three days* Stress fractures can also occur due to repetitive strain from high-impact activities.
• Persistent fatigue from physical activity*
• Decreased performance* Upper respiratory tract infections are common among athletes with decreased immunity due to excessive exercise.
• Sleep disturbances*
• Loss of appetite*

Read this resource that I found my friend, you'll notice that this is all very real symptoms. And you'll notice this is what I've found in my research to tell you the effects of overtraining. [R]

Now here's what I what you to do, if you have any of these symptoms, simply just take one week off and do light jogging for working out and some active recovery workouts. 

Don't forget have the right eating habits as this is the most important part to living a healthy, more fulfilling life. This can and will help you to get better from overtraining. [R]

The Bottom Line: The Effects of Overtraining

Overtraining is very real and if you were smart, you'd not drink a million pre-workouts just to overdo some big lifts such as bench pressing and deadlifting. 

This is what guys do all the time, and then they wonder why they stop their fitness journey altogether. 

It's because getting hurt fucking sucks ass. And if you have gotten hurt, I suggest you find a chiropractor or a physical therapist.

But, but, "doesn't that cost a fortune?"

Are you kidding me? Your body deserves to feel better and you ignoring your injuries is you NOT LISTENING TO YOUR BODY.

I'd rather you spend some spare cash to get that shit taken care of. Or you can let that shit stay there, what you resist, persists my friend. 

Here's my final point, don't make the mistake I did when I had a 'fixed mindset' and didn't want to ask out any guidance.

That was honestly a stupid decision I made and I will fully own that. I'm glad I learned the lesson I did, because now I know better. 

Do me a favor my friend, and feel comfortable comment down below if you are experiencing any effects of overtraining. I'm here to help you my friend. 

Before I ditch out, understand that this entire article is no excuse to NEVER start your fitness journey. That's pure fucking laziness. You are a man, not a fucking pussy. Get in your workouts brothers.

Do me a favor and comment below any questions you have. I want to hear from you. See you later man!